Steerable self-powered floating structures



y 30, 1957 M. F. SMITH ETAL STEERABLE SELF-POWERED FLOATING STRUCTURES 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2,

MILLARD F SMIT H ANTHONY V. AN USAUCKAS INVENTORS. fiafw ATTORNEY.

FIG.

y 1967 M. F. SMITH ETAL STEERABLE SELF-POWERED FLOATING STRUCTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 2, 1965 t I INVENTORS. F. SMITH V. ANUSAUCKAS Ae/A/QAL ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,321,923 STEERABLE SELF-PGWERED FLOATHNG STRUCTURES Millard Emith, Westport, Conn. Fluid Solids, End,

Pd). Box 295, Saugatnck, Qonn. 06830), and Anthony V. Anusauekas, Bridgeport, Conn; said Anusauckas assignor to said Smith Filed Mar. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 436,502 8 Claims. (Cl. 61 l) This invention relates to floating booms used for surrounding and confining floating material, such as oil spilled from ruptured delivery hoses during loading and unloading of oil tankers. Particularly, this invention relates to self-powered floating booms which can be launched and paid out from storage facilities and moved quickly into position to perform rescue operations or to surround floating material to be confined, utilizing their own selfpowered motive force, and being steered either by remote radio control or by a manual control station directly connected to the movable boom.

Conventional booms for many years have been fabricated of different materials, originally of heavy wood, cork and canvas, and more recently of light-weight plastic materials, such as the accordion-folding polyurethene float-polyethylene fin oil boom described in United States Patent 3,146,598, issued to Millard F. Smith on Sept. 1, 1964. These light-weight plastic oil booms have the ad vantage of economy of fabrication, unsinkability, great convenience of storage and operation, low windage, long useful life, and high resistance to abrasion and collision, and they may be destroyed conveniently by burning if they become fouled with oil, for replacement is often less expensive than cleaning and reconditioning such booms.

Conventional oil booms are generally towed into position by a launch, requiring a considerable length of time to place the boom in position after launching. Even when accordion-folding segmented oil booms, as shown in Patent 3,146,598, are launched from break-away lockers under a clock, a tow boat must be manned, coupled and maneuvered around the entire circumference of the region to be enclosed by the boom before the boom effectively encloses the region to be confined.

The floating boom of the present invention is entirely self-powered, preferably by compressed air which is readily available on commercial docks and vessels. The boom may be launched and manuevered into position with great speed and high precision, either by entirely automatic systems, or by manuel control from a dock or a vessel.

The booms of this invention are also well adapted for rescue and lifesaving operations in surf or heavy seas, since they can be stored in and launched from break-away casings aboard fast-moving vehicles, such as surf boats, helicopters or beach buggies. Because of this mobile storage and launching capability, the booms of this invention provide highly effective salvage and rescue systems for reaching vessels or personnel adrift in heavy seas. The booms of this invention may be launched and maneuvered quickly upwind from a rescue vessel or from shore to deliver supplies, breeches, buoy lines, tow lines, lifelines or other rescue aids to endangered personnel and vessels.

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide a floating boom easily launched from shore or from a mobile storage unit, and which may be quickly moved into position by self-powered and steerable motive means incorporated in the boom itself.

Another object is to provide floating booms which may be released from storage at a dock, to enclose a vessel and confine the water surface immediately surrounding the vessel in a very short period of time.

CJI

3,321,923 Patented May 30, 1967 A further object is to provide floating booms which may be released from any point on a shore or from a vessel, capable of moving quickly through heavy seas to deliver rescue or lifesaving means to endangered vessels and personnel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such booms with self-contained driving means incorporated integrally within the structure of the boom itself, and providing convenient storage capability combined with quick launching of the boom preferably from. an accordion-folded to an unfolded configuration, achieving a high degree of flexibility and stability while minimizing frictional resistance to movement of the boom through the water.

Other and more specific objects will be apparent from the features, elements, combinations and operating procedures disclosed in the following detailed description and shown in the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic plan view of a dock and vessel showing a boom of the present invention being released from storage at dockside and moving into position to surround the vessel;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective end view of the forward end of the boom of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary broken-away side elevation view of the boom shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the boom of FIG- URES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional elevation view of the boom shown in FIGURE 3, taken along the line 5-5 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the boom shown in the previous figures, illustrating its construction and assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a schematic side elevation view of a beachside system for release and launching of a boom of Floating boom structure The se'lfpowered floating booms of the present invention are preferably formed entirely of light-weight plastic material with relatively stiff sections joined by relatively flexible sections to promote accordion-folding of the boom for flaking it compactly into dockside or under-dock storage containers, as shown in Millard F. Smith Patent 3,146,598.

In the schematic plan View of FIGURE 1, a tanker ll) moored to a dock 12 may be quickly surrounded by a floating boom 14 released from a break-away container 16 installed beside or under a dock or from a storage container 13 mounted on the dock near its edge. As shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 6, the principal structural features of the booms of this invention are a thin continuous fin 2%. Along the upper edge 22 of fin 2d a series of elongated floats 24 are secured, and a series of ballast weights, such as the lead staples 38, secured along the lower edge of fin 2t co-operate with the floats 24 to keep the fin 2% substantially upright. The boom 14 is formed in long continuous lengths, to which additional lengths may be joined by coupling hitches such as the hitch 19 shown in FIG- URES 3 and 6.

Each float 24 is preferably formed as a long solid circular cylinder having a radial slot 26 formed along its underside to accommodate the upper edge of the fin 20, which is held in slot 26 by plastic straps 34 surrounding floats 24 and secure-d thereunder to fin 2tl by such means as stainless steel bolts 36, as shown in FIGURE 6. Each float 24 is also provided with a vertical slot extension 28, extending the ends of the lower slot 26 upwardly across 3 the entire diameter of float 24 along a short portion of its length of each end, as shown in FIGURE 6.

To accommodate float 24, the upper edge of fin 20 is preferably formed with a series of cut-away segments 32 spaced along its length generally corresponding to slots 26 in floats 24, and forming between themselves a series of upstanding fin extensions 30 spaced to protrude upwardly into and between slot extensions 28 in the successive pairs of floats 24. The ends of fin extensions 30 extend lengthwise into the vertical slot extensions 28 in the assembled boom 14, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 6. The fin extensions 30 extend upward to substantially the same level as the upper surface of floats 24, forming a substantially continuous fence or barrier several inches above the water surface 33 having a streamlined cross section (FIGURE presenting a low exposed area to crosswinds to minimize windage or lateral displacement by wind. Fin 21) presents maximum lateral plane area with minimum drag, like the long flat keel of a deep keel sailboat, facilitating forward, lengthwise movement of the boom while resisting sidewise leeway. Fin extensions 30 space the ends of floats 24 apart lengthwise by a distance of several float diameters or more, providing fin regions between the floats which are relatively flexible to lateral bending. This facilitates accordion-folded storage of the boom 14 as shown in FIGURES l and 8.

Towing unit 15 A towing unit 15 is coupled to the forward end of the boom by the coupling hitch 19. The towing unit 15 is similar in construction to the balance of boom 14, and comprises a thin vertical fin 21 surmounted by an enlarged towing float 25 secured together by straps 34 surrounding the float with their ends sandwiching the fin beneath the float, anchored together by stainless steel bolts 36. Ballast weights 38 near its lower edge maintain fin 21 in a generally upright position, depending downwardly underwater beneath towing float 25 as indicated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4.

Secured to the forward end of fin 21 and forming the leading edge of the towing unit 15 is a vertical metal anchor plate 40 having mounted near its lower end a lateral bracket 42. A similar bracket 42 is positioned symmetrically on the opposite side of fin 21, and the brackets 42 thus protrude laterally beneath water level 33 beside the forward end of the towing unit 15. The two brackets 42 may be bolted together through anchor plate '40 and fin 21 by bolts 44, as shown in the figures.

Firmly secured within a rolled outer end of each bracket 42 is a short nozzle conduit 46 preferably formed as a length of pipe having its forward end secured within bracket 42, with its rearward end extending alongside fin 21 with its axis 48 angularly offset away from the fin by an angle of about 15, for example, as shown in FIG- URE 4.

Each nozzle conduit 46 has its forward end connected to a source of power fluid, such as compressed air or water under pressure, to provide a jet stream. projected through each nozzle 46 to exhaust along its axis 48, producing reaction force to propel the boom 14 forward and to turn and steer the towing unit 15.

The slight outward flare, in the neighborhood of 15, between the line of action 48 of the reaction jet from each nozzle 46 and the plane of fin 21 acts to balance the Bernoulli effect which would tend to move fin 21 toward the exhausting nozzle 46 because of the reduced pressure created by the exhaust jet from that nozzle. The outward flare produces a counteracting outward force component perpendicular to fin 21, and the resultant jet reaction force acts substantially rearwardly from each nozzle 46.

Moreover, the outward flare of nozzles 46 provides a lateral steering component of each reaction force which may be increased by raising the pressure in the compressed air supply line leading to either nozzle as desired. Nozzles 46 may be anchored adjustably in brackets 42 with their 48 of each reaction jet has been found most effective to avoid porpoising or pitching of towing unit 15 during its forward movement through the water.

Compressed air supply lines The reaction fluid conduit connected to each of the nozzles 46 is preferably a compressed air supply line formed as a length of hose 5% having its end securely connected to the forward end of each nozzle 46, and curving upward and rearwardly as shown in the figures to extend into and along a lengthwise groove 52 in the inner face of the radial downward slot 26 formed along the lower half of towing float 25. A similar groove 52 is formed along both facing surfaces of each slot 26 near its lower edge, close to the lower surface of float 25, as indicated in FIGURES 2 and 3, and each groove 52 accommodates one of the hoses leading rearwardly from its nozzle 46. If hoses 50 are flexible, adjustment of nozzles 46 in brackets 42 to change the angles of inclination and divergence of the axes 48 of nozzles 46 will flex hoses 50 but will not damage them.

The compressed air supply conduit is completed by a long hose 54 preferably extending along the entire length of the boom 14. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 6, hose 54 extends along boom 14 through grooves 56 formed in successive floats 24 similar to the grooves 52 in float 25. The facing grooves 52 and 56 form a longitudinal internal cavity extending through the entire length of float 25 and each buoyant float 24 along boom 14. Installation of hoses 50 and 54 inside the floats in concealed grooves 52 and 56 protects the hoses from damage, abrasion and weathering, and also minimizes turbulence or frictional drag resisting forward movement of the boom.

The forward end of the hose 54 is joined by an airtight hose coupling 58 to the rearward end of the towing unit hose 50, with a considerable extra length or slack bight 60 being formed in these two hoses to provide for lateral flexing of the assembled structure between the forwardmost float 24 and the towing unit 15 in the region of the coupling hitch 19. A corresponding excess length of hose 54 is left between each successive pair of floats 24 shown at the right hand of FIGURE 6 forming a similar slack bight 62 permitting lateral flexing and bending of the boom 14 at the flexible fin segment between each successive pair of floats 24. These slack bights 6t) and 62 formed by the excess lengths of hoses 50 and 54 between each successive pair of floats thus permit the accordionfolding of boom 14 and its towing unit 15 for compact storage in breakaway containers 16 or 18 on or under the dock 12, or for similar storage in mobile vehicles as hereafter described.

The extreme rear end of boom 14 is preferably anchored or secured in or near the storage container, and each hose 54 is connected to a control unit 64 mounted on the dock and having a pair of throttle controls R and L connected to an air compressor or compressed air storage tank 66. Control unit 64 supplies air in selected amounts to the right hand or left hand hoses 54, 5-11 and nozzles 46. Compressed air is generally available at docks and wharves for driving pneumatic harnmers, wrenches and the like, and this supplies a convenient source of compressed air for operating the selfpowered booms of this invention. Other compressed gases or liquids under pressure may be used for this purpose if desired.

Mobile rescue systems The self-powered and steerable floating booms of this invention provide useful lifesaving and rescue systems, since they may be accordion-folded for compact storage in a mobile land vehicle for release at any point along a shore. The substantially continuous flexible fin 20 facilitates the compact storage and accordion-unfolding release and launching of a boom 14 from a mobile storage vehicle 68 as illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8, because fin 20 inhibits twisting of the boom during launching, operation and retrieval. The boom 14 is preferably launched through an overhead chute 70 directing it in a trajectory over breakers near the shore, and its launching may be aided by a pair of rotating inflated rollers 72 forming a pair of driven pinch rolls near the outer end of the chute 70. The fat compressible power-driven pneumatic rollers 72 seize the boom 14 and hurl it forward continuously with their own peripheral velocity, drawing boom 14 unfoldingly from its storage container behind chute 70, as shown in FIGURE 8. The compressibility of rollers 72 allows them to grip floats 24 and fin extensions 30 in quick succession. By reversing driven rollers 72, the boom may be retrieved and re-folded accordion fashion in vehicle 68 after use, and vessels and personnel secured to boom 14 may be drawn to the control station.

An air compressor or storage tank and a control unit similar to compressor 66 and control unit 64 in FIGURE 1 are preferably mounted in the cab of the vehicle 68, beneath chute 70, where the operator in the cab, protected from wind and sea by his windshield, can control the launching and maneuvering of the self-powered steerable boom 14.

Wave action and rough seas tend to deflect and divert boom 14 from its intended path, and these factors may be minimized by stationing vehicle 68 directly downwind from the target, and launching boom 14 directly upwind with maximum pressure in hoses 54 to give maximum launching velocity. Even breaking waves will generally not catch and divert the towing unit when it is moving counter to the waves direction of travel.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a beacon light 74-, visible around its entire periphery through a 360 transparent Fresnel housing, is mounted at the upper end of a staff 76 secured to the forward edge of the anchor plate 40, and is connected through a water-tight conductor 78 to batteries secured in a water-tight battery case 80 recessed in the upper surface of towing float 25.

The highly visible beacon light '74 aids the operator in the cab of his vehicle 68 in steering the forward end of the boom 14 at night and in bad weather. By using his control unit, he may thus maneuver the boom directly to the vicinity of persons or vessels requiring assistance despite heavy surf, high winds, rain, snow or fog.

Additional control units, such as radidcontrollecl air throttles, may be mounted in towing unit 15', in which case a single hose 54 connected to the throttles through a branched coupling connects source 65 to nozzles 46. The towing unit 15 may thus be controlled by a remote radio transmitter located on vessel It or dock 12 in FIGURE 1, or by a nearby land, sea or airborne radio transmitter. Towing unit 15 may also carry a microphone and loudspeaker intercotnrnunication or radio system through which the operator can talk and give instructions to persons near towing unit 15.

If the storage container for the folded boom 14 is carried on a hovering aircraft such as a hovercraft or helicopter, or in a surfboat, it may be launched near shoals or wrecks to aid in rescue and salvage operations, and may be maneuvered, controlled or jettisoned by local or remote control as required.

For high resistance to wear and weather, and maximum useful life, floats 24 and 25 are preferably formed of plastic foam, preferably closed-cell, of polyurethane, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. Fins 2t! and 21 and straps 34 are preferably formed of polyethylene sheet, formed of high density or linear polyethylene. Hoses 50 and 54 may be formed from vinyl plastic or polyethylene for carrying water up to 60 psig as the pressurized driving fluid, or from reinforced heavy duty rubber for carrying compressed air at 120 to 150 p.s.i.g., for example. Wrappers or envelopes of linear polyethylene sheet filled with opaque coloring fillers may enclose the floats 24 and 25 if desired, to be held in place by straps 34. In bright colors high visibility fluorescent orance or yellow, such covers aid the operator to see and control the boom 14 in poor visibility, and protect it from weathering and solar radiation.

While the objects of the invention are efliciently achieved by the preferred forms of the invention described in the foregoing specification, the invention also includes changes and variations falling within and between the definitions of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A continuous flexible floating structure comprising in combination (A) a substantially continuous flexible elongated up right fin having upper and lower edges,

(B) ballast means mounted along the lower edge of the fin,

(C) a plurality of elongated buoyant floats mounted at spaced intervals along the upper edge of the fin,

(D) a buoyant towing unit flexibly secured to a first end of the fin and including a pair of nozzles facing the first end of the fin and mounted on the towing unit in side-by-side diverging relationship, and

(E) flexible conduit means extending beside the fin and supported by the floats joining each nozzle via a separate control throttle to a source of pressurized driving fluid,

whereby operation of the separate control throttles governs the rate at which pressurized fluid is supplied to the individual nozzles, forming exhaust jet therefrom having velocities variable to drive and steer the structure.

2. The floating structure defined in claim 1, wherein each of the elongated buoyant floats is provided with means forming a longitudinal internal cavity shaped to receive a juxtaposed portion of the flexible conduit means.

3. The floating structure defined in claim 2 wherein the buoyant floats are spaced apart providing inter-float segments of the flexible fin, with the. flexible conduit means having slack bight segments between their juxtaposed portions having suflicient excess length beside the inter-float fin segments between adjacent floats to permit accordion-folding of the structure at these segments for compact storage.

4. The floating structure defined in claim 1 in further combination with a mobile launching vehicle incorporatmg (A) a storage container in which the boom is carried compactly accordion-folded,

(B) a source of pressurized driving fluid connected to the nozzles via the separate control throttles by the flexible conduit means, and

(C) means operatively connected to actuate the control throttles.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 including a launching chute mounted on the launching vehicle and opening from the storage container, and a pair of compressible power-driven rollers rotatably mounted in facing engagement near the center of the chute forming reversible pinch rolls positioned to grip and drive the boom between themselves for launching and retrieval of the boom from the launching vehicle.

6. The floating structure defined in claim 1 wherein the nozzles are secured to the towing unit in adjustable mountings providing variable angles of inclination and divergence for the nozzles.

7. The combination defined in claim 1 including a beacon light mounted on and positioned above the buoyant towing unit, and a power source operatively connected to illuminate the beacon light.

8. A continuous flexible floating structure comprising in combination (A) a substantially continuous elongated upright fin having upper and lower edges,

(B) a multiplicity of ballast weights mounted along the lower edge of the fin at spaced intervals,

(C) a plurality of elongated buoyant floats (1) mounted and spaced apart along the upper edge of the fin with unbuoyed foldable fin segments therebetween, (2) each float having longitudinal internal cavity means extending lengthwise therethrough,

(D) a buoyant towing unit flexibly secured to a first end of the fin and including (1) a air of nozzles facing the first end of the fin and mounted on the towing unit beneath the waterline in sideby-side diverging relationship,

(2) separate conduits respectively connecting each nozzle to a coupling near the first end of the fin,

(E) a source of pressurized driving fluid,

(F) flexible hose means extending through and supported within the longitudinal internal cavity means in the buoyant floats and joining each coupling to the source of pressurized driving fluid, and

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1961 Wicklander 61-1 10/1963 Hayes 61-69 X 8/1964 Sorrentino et a1. 11512 9/1964 Smith 611 8/1966 Watkins 6169 X FOREIGN PATENTS 6/1954 Italy.

EARL I. WITMER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE FLOATING STRUCTURE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION (A) A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE ELONGATED UPRIGHT FIN HAVING UPPER AND LOWER EDGES, (B) BALLAST MEANS MOUNTED ALONG THE LOWER EDGE OF THE FIN, (C) A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED BUOYANT FLOATS MOUNTED AT SPACED INTERVALS ALONG THE UPPER EDGE OF THE FIN, (D) A BUOYANT TOWING UNIT FLEXIBLY SECURED TO A FIRST END OF THE FIN AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF NOZZLES FACING THE FIRST END OF THE FIN AND MOUNTED ON THE TOWING 